A 19-year-old man has been held at knifepoint and punched in the face in a street robbery in Accrington.

The incident happened at around 10.40pm on Thursday, July 7 where the man was walking along the ‘black path’ near to Lonsdale Street with a friend when they were approached by three men

Both the victim and his friend were punched to the face before one of the men pulled out a knife. They stole the victim’s rucksack and some cash before running off from the scene.

The victim suffered bruising and cuts to his face as a result of the attack.

Detective Constable Jon Marsh, of Blackburn CID, said: “This was a nasty robbery which happened while the victim and his friend were making their way home from the train station. An investigation is underway to trace those responsible and I would appeal to anyone who witnessed what happened or who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area at the time to contact us.”

One of the men is described as white, 6ft, of athletic build and aged approximately 23 to 24 years old. He was wearing a dark coloured tracksuit with a Nike tick across the chest and was wearing a cap with his hood up.

The second man is described as white, approximately 5ft 10in, stocky build and aged approximately 23 to 24 years old. He was wearing a blue coloured cap.

The third offender is described as white, skinny build, aged approximately 17 to 19 years old. He was wearing a dark tracksuit with the hood up.

All three men had their t-shirts pulled up covering their faces.

Anyone with information can contact us on 101 quoting crime reference ED1610155 or alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.